Joan Kathleen Smallwood (born August 15, 1950) is a former Canadian politician from

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. A member of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

(NDP), she represented Surrey-Guildford-Whalley from 1986 to 1991 and

Surrey-Whalley Surrey-Whalley is a former provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada in use from 1991 to 2024. Under the 2021 British Columbia electoral redistribution that took effect for the 2024 election, the ri ...

from 1991 to 2001 in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

. She served as a cabinet minister, in a variety of roles, in the cabinets of

Mike Harcourt Michael Franklin Harcourt Officer of the Order of Canada, OC (born January 6, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 30th premier of British Columbia from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th List of mayors of Vancouver ...

Glen Clark Glen David Clark (born November 22, 1957) is a Canadian retail executive and former politician who served as the 31st premier of British Columbia from 1996 to 1999. Early life and education Clark attended independent Roman Catholic schools, na ...

, Dan Miller and

Ujjal Dosanjh Ujjal Dev Dosanjh (; born September 9, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the 33rd premier of British Columbia from 2000 to 2001 and as a Liberal Party of Canada member of Parliament from 2004 to 2011. He was minister of he ...

Early life

She was born Joan Kathleen Beech in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, the daughter of Lester Beech. In 1970, she married Larry Smallwood. Before entering politics, Smallwood worked for Langley Family Services.

Political career

Following the NDP's victory in the 1991 election, Smallwood was appointed Minister of Social Services. In 1993, as part of a wider cabinet shuffle, Smallwood became Minister of Housing, Recreation and Consumer Services. In October 1995, as the Bingogate scandal emerged, Smallwood was tangentially involved as a member of the NDP executive during the period when the party received misappropriated funds. Smallwood said she was unaware of the scam but felt responsible enough to offer her resignation from cabinet on October 23. Harcourt refused her resignation. On October 25, Smallwood criticized Harcourt's handling of the scandal, saying "the premier has responsibilities he will have to account for." The following day, Harcourt dismissed her from cabinet, provoking outcry within caucus. Following Harcourt's resignation, she stood in the 1996 leadership election, placing third behind

Corky Evans Corky Evans (born January 2, 1948) is a former Canadian provincial politician in British Columbia, Canada. He twice ran for the leadership of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia, placing second both times. In both cases, the party forme ...

and winner

. Smallwood returned to cabinet on July 21, 1999, as Minister of Labour. After Clark's resignation, she retained her portfolio through the brief Miller ministry. On February 29, 2000, after new premier

was sworn in, she became Minister of Women's Equality. In November of that year, Dosanjh shuffled his cabinet and Smallwood returned to the labour ministry. Smallwood ran for re-election in the 2001 election, but was defeated by

Elayne Brenzinger Elayne Brenzinger (born 1951, in Scotland) was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, serving as a member of the British Columbia Liberal Party from 2001–2005. She was a key figure in the formation of the De ...

References

External links

Hon. Joan Smallwood , Members at dissolution of 36th Parliament , Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smallwood, Joan 1950 births Living people British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs Women government ministers of Canada Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia People from Surrey, British Columbia Politicians from Vancouver Women MLAs in British Columbia 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 21st-century Canadian women politicians